Left at the Altar
by sarah-tonin
Summary: Taken from the prompt: Person B leaves Person A at the altar. I'll continue this as long as there is interest, so let me know what you think! This is slightly AU in that it takes place in modern-day. I do not own the characters and am a recent college graduate who has loans to pay off, so please don't sue me.
1. Chapter 1

**Person B leaves Person A at the alter.**

Glinda was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She had done mot of it already, but wanted to make sure she looked perfect. _Even though Elphaba won't care what I look like_, she thought. Just the thought of getting married to the love of her life was enough to make her hurry and want to speed down the asile and through their vows.

Finally finishing, she walked out of the room where her father was waiting. Giving her a huge smile and a kiss on the cheek, he offered her his arm, leading her into the chapel. Elphaba had already walked down the aisle and would be waiting for Glinda at the end. She couldn't want to see her beautiful green bride, couldn't wait to start their life together. _Well, our life together has already started_, Glinda thought, right before the doors opened. _This is just making it official._

But Elphaba was not waiting at the end of the aisle. Thinking maybe she just hadn't walked yet, Glinda decided to wait a little bit.

However, someone quietly walked up to them and said that Elphaba hadn't even gotten dressed for the wedding, nor had she shown up to the church, and nobody knew where she currently was. They had tried calling, but her phone was turned off.

"Maybe I should take you home, dear." Her father said quietly, not wanting to cause a scene. Numbly, Glinda allowed herself to be led to the car and driven home. The fact that she would have to deal with her guests at some point and explain what had happened did not cross her mind.

Pulling up to their apartment, Glinda did not know what to expect. She did not know if Elphaba would be home. She had tried calling her in the car, but her phone was still turned off. Crying too hard to leave a message, she decided she would call back later.

Resisting her father's offers to stay with her that night, or finding someone who would, Glinda made her way inside. The only one she wanted was Elphie, and that was clearly not going to happen.

Walking around the cramped space in a daze, Glinda almost passed by the note on the kitchen counter. In Elphaba's smooth writing was her name. The letter wasn't thick, but it wasn't thin, either. Opening it, she began to read.

_Dear Glinda,_

_By now you know that I ran away from our wedding. I don't know what state this letter will find you in, but I assume it will not be a good one. _

_I am so, so sorry I left you. I hope it wasn't too painful. What am I writing, of course it'll be painful. _

_I'm sure by now you're wanting some kind of explanation, and I will try to explain myself. I hope it is somewhat satisfactory. _

_The idea of marriage was never something that was in my dreams as a little girl, it wasn't something that I spent hours fantasizing about. I didn't even know if I would get married one day. Then I met you, and everything changed – I know that sounds cliché. I feel for you, hard. I hadn't done that before, with anyone. Since I didn't have "the perfect wedding" in mind, I did not expect to propose to you, but it made me very happy when you said 'yes.' I'm sure you're wondering why I proposed if I was just going to walk out and not actually go through with the wedding itself. But I had every intention of marrying you when I proposed, and while planning the wedding. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment my feelings changed. But somewhere along the way, I got scared and doubted myself, even more than I already did, and that was not a good combination at all. Not of marrying you, not at all, but of marriage in general. 50% of marriages end in divorce, and I did not want us to become one of those couples. I know what you're thinking: but then 50% of marriages last! And you're right, Glinda. But I was so full of self-doubt – this has nothing to do with you, my sweet, but everything to do with me. You are such a extraordinary person and anyone would be lucky to have you. I know I was. But I didn't feel like I deserved you, at all._

_I hope this letter explained some things, although you have every right to hate me for the rest of your life. You do not deserve what I did, and again I am truly sorry. I know that won't make up for what I've done. I'm sure by now that you've tried to contact me. I don't know yet where I will be going, but I'll call you in a few days. I hope you'll at least talk to me._

_-Elphie_

While Glinda was happy she got a letter and some explanations, it didn't help a whole lot. She knew Elphaba wasn't the type to get married, but then she proposed so Glinda thought she must be okay with it, and from her letter, it confirmed what Glinda was thinking. _Were there signs that I should have seen? _Glinda replayed every moment from the proposal on, trying to figure out when Elphaba's feelings had changed, even if she didn't know herself. But Elphaba was apparently a better actress than she thought because she couldn't figure out when things had gone sour, which made her feel frustrated. Calling Elphaba again, just in case, and not getting an answer, didn't help anything.

By then, Glinda realized that it was nearly dark and she hadn't eaten anything all day. She also realized that she should be a married woman right now, dancing with her bride and their friends and family. And that she was still in her wedding dress. Walking into their room – could it still even be called theirs? – she opened Elphaba's drawers and found that most of her stuff was still there, it was almost as if she had gone on a little vacation.

The day of her wedding.

Without taking Glinda with her.

Without even telling Glinda where she was going.

Shimming out of her dress and into more comfortable clothes, Glinda then walked back into the kitchen and tried to decide what to eat for dinner. Finding Elphaba's favorite crackers made her throw them at the wall, and then tears cascaded down her face, slow at first and then very fast. She stayed like that, bawling her eyes out in the small kitchen, for several hours. By then, she had exhausted herself to the point where she was falling asleep against the counter. Not wanting to sleep in the bed she had shared with Elphaba, she chose to grab a blanket and sleep on the couch, which was actually fairly comfortable. The events of the day caught up with her, and she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Glinda woke up to the sound of her phone ringing.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to those that reviewed! I'm glad you like the story so far, and I hope the following chapters are as good as the first one. :) **

Thinking it was her ex-fiancé, who she really wasn't in the mood to talk to, Glinda almost didn't even look at her phone. But after a few seconds, she saw that it was not the woman who left her at the altar, but her father calling: the name Popsicle flashed across the screen.

"Hi Daddy. I've been better….no, she's not here….no, she hasn't called….she left me a letter and attempted to explain everything on paper…it didn't really help…she said she'd call me at some point….I don't know when that's going to be… I don't know where she is…I don't need you and Momsie to come over…I don't know, I was expecting to be on my honeymoon so I don't really have any plans for the day…yeah I'll call you if I need anything. Love you too."

While she appreciated her father calling to check up on her, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to people. Not wanting to talk to anyone, she contemplated turning her phone off. But Elphaba might call, and she did want to talk to her, so she left it on and just mindlessly flipped through channels on the TV. She didn't move the entire day except to go to the bathroom and eat a peanut butter sandwich, and those only when necessary for survival.

Finally, around 6pm, her phone rang, and _Elphie_ (with a engagement ring emoji) flashed across the screen.

She answered it on the third ring.

"Elphaba."

"My swee- Glinda. Hello." _Old habits die hard_ – Elphaba rarely called her Glinda, preferring 'my sweet' pretty much since the day they started officially dating. The voice on the other end sounded awkward. Hearing Elphaba's voice involuntarily made her melt, even if she was currently madder at her than she'd been at anyone her entire life.

"Where are you?!" Glinda shouted, before Elphaba could attempt to make small talk in an attempt to delay the conversation – even though she had voluntarily called her, Glinda couldn't imagine this conversation being pleasant for either of them.

"I can't tell you, but I am not anywhere near our apartment, so you don't have to worry about running into me if you go out anywhere." _Like I'll be leaving this apartment anytime soon_, Glinda thought.

"Elphaba. I read your letter. I just… Why couldn't you have just told me these things instead of leaving me at the alter?!"

"I know you're hurt, and I'm sure it must have been embarrassing for you, having to face everyone-"

"Screw them, why didn't you just tell me how you were feeling?! I don't care about the guests or my reputation, but I would have really appreciated you actually telling me how you were feeling, that you really didn't want to go through with this wedding, instead of leaving me and leaving a letter." Glinda hadn't been this mad in her life, and she tried to not cry from anger – anger and hurt, mixed with disappointment and a hundred other things she couldn't name at that moment. _Although crying might make Elphaba feel even more guilty_…

"I didn't want to hurt you. And yes, I know that I hurt you far more by doing what I did, but I didn't…" She paused, trying to figure out how to say what she was thinking. "I don't know, and you deserve better than that, but I truly don't know. It seems stupid now, like I should have told you weeks ago how I was feeling."

"…You were feeling like this for weeks?! And you couldn't tell me anything?" She paused to catch her breath. "Well you could win an Oscar for that performance."

"Again, I know this is stupid, and in hindsight, I wish I would have told you!"

They paused from screaming at each other – well, Glinda screamed, Elphaba just talked as calmly as if she were discussing the weather. After they spent several minutes just listening to each other breathe, Glinda asked, "So what do we do now?"

"I'm not against the idea of being with you forever, Glinda, I just couldn't go through with the actual wedding ceremony. I know none of what I'm saying makes sense." A pause. "Although I don't expect you to take me back after all of this." More pauses on Glinda's end.

"Okay. I know I asked 'what now?' but I really need a break before I even think about what I want to do. I don't even want to think about taking you back… You hurt me so much, Elphaba, and I don't really care if you're hurt too. I just really need time to process this whole thing."

"I understand. Do you want to call me when you figure out what you want to do? You can take all the time you need." Glinda agreed, and they hung up.


End file.
